Search for sea birds affected by oil spill to continue

Kim Stephens

Maritime authorities are testing oil samples from three ships in the Port of Brisbane area on Sunday night in an attempt to identify the source of a spill.

The search for sea birds and other animals caught in the spill will continue on Tuesday and shipping movements have been disrupted as authorities clean up an estimated 10 tonnes of oil that caused a 1.4km slick.

Oil on the surface of the water at Port of Brisbane. Photo: Seven News

There was no disruption to the scheduled arrival of the US naval units, including USS George Washington, which arrived in port on Monday morning.

“The Brisbane Regional Harbour Master and port staff are also making arrangements with shipping companies to address any short term congestion which may arise before the berths are cleaned and returned to operation,” Mr Emerson said.